Friday, August 3, 2012

Residents say that Mary Help of Christians and the flea market will close for good on Sept. 1


For the past four or so years, we've been following the saga of the Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church and its inevitable, unfortunate, closure to make way for a new development.

Multiple neighbors/parishioners are now saying that the church, school and adjacent property have been sold to a developer to make way for "condos and luxury apartments."

Nearby residents say all this will be effective Sept. 1 ... so if the residents are correct... this means that you have about four weeks left to enjoy the flea market here along Avenue A between East 11th Street and 12th Street...


..which has been open during the week since late July...


While there isn't any official confirmation just yet, rumors of development here have been swirling since 2008, when The Real Deal reported that two-thirds of the playground space along Avenue A had been sold in an all-cash deal for $10.4 million. That deal never materialized.

There is still a Spanish-language mass at the church every Sunday morning at 11:30.

The church opened in 1917.

For further reading:
The Church Ladies (The New York Times)
at

8 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 3, 2012 at 12:23 PM

    Big thanks to the Archdiocese of New York.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bowery BoogieAugust 3, 2012 at 12:28 PM

    what a shame.

    ReplyDelete
  3. GojiraAugust 3, 2012 at 3:09 PM

    They are seriously going to tear that beautiful church down? Oh and Anon. 12:23, don't forget to also thank the Landmarks Rejection Committee, which refused to consider the church for landmark status.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousAugust 3, 2012 at 3:29 PM

    This sucks - that flea market is one of my favorite things left in this boring neighborhood. Where am I going to get the junk I need & people watch now?

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousAugust 3, 2012 at 4:33 PM

    I've lived at 12th @ A since 1997, and this is heartbreaking and enraging. Fucking assholes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousAugust 3, 2012 at 4:59 PM

    why do we keep losing amazing things that are replaced by horrible things?
    STOP THE MADNESS!!!!!!

    this is a cultural tragedy of epic proportions. where will the flea market go???

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousAugust 4, 2012 at 3:26 PM

    I'd be less worried about the flea market and more concerned with what they are going to build on this site.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousAugust 29, 2012 at 5:27 PM

    I thought it was closing the following weekend, no? Poor little ladies.

    ReplyDelete

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